Turkey with Whole Wheat and Currant Stuffing
Ingredients
- 1 12-pound turkey, giblets removed and reserved
- 1 large orange, halved
- salt and pepper
- Whole Wheat and Currant Stuffing
- 2 eggs
- 2/3 cup broth
- 6 tablespoon butter, softened
- 6 tablepoons butter, melted
- 6 tablespoon flour
- 3 cup Giblet Broth, or stock
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 1 hard boiled egg, finely chopped (optional)
Instructions
Preheat oven to 450F. Butter 8 cup casserole. Rinse turkey; pat dry. Place in roasting pan. Squeeze juice from orange over turkey and into cavity. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spoon 4 cups stuffing into cavity. Mix 2 eggs and 2/3 cup stock into remaining stuffing. Transfer stuffing to casserole dish; cover and refrigerate. Rub 6 tablespoons softened butter over turkey. Roast turkey 45 minutes. Reduce oven temp to 350F. Roast turkey until meat thermometer inserted in thickest part of thigh registers 175F, basting turkey occasionally with melted butter, about 1 hour 15 minutes (uncover stffing in dish and place in oven final 45 minutes). Transfer turkey to platter, tent with foil. Remove stuffing from oven. Pour turkey pan juices into bowl. Degrease pan juices, reserving 6 tablespoons fat. Pour fat back into roasting pan. Place pan over medium heat. Add flour to pan and stir 3 minutes. Stir degreased pan juices and 3 cups Giblet Broth into pan and bring to boil, scraping up any browned bits and stirring constantly. Simmer until gravy thickens, stirring frequently. Pour into medium saucepan. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add reserved liver and saute until cooked through. Chop liver. Mix liver and chopped heart, gizzard and egg into gravy. Bring to simmer, then pour into sauceboat. Serve turkey with Whole Wheat and Currant Stuffing and gravy. Giblet Broth 8 cups water 1 1/2 pounds turkey necks Neck, hart and gizzard from turkey 1 1-inch thick onion slice 1 celery stalk, chopped 1 teaspoon thyme Combine water, turkey necks, heart and gizzard, onion, celery and thyme in large saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer 1 1/2 hours. Strain, reserving heart and gizzard. Return broth to saucepan and boil until liquid is reduced to 3 cups. Chop heart and gizzard and reserve for gravy. Whole Wheat and Currant Stuffing 1 3/4 pounds whole wheat bread, broken into large pieces 2 ounces dried shiitake mushrooms 3 cups hot water 1 cup butter 3/4 cup chopped green onions 2 teaspoons thyme 1 cup dried currants 1 cup lightly toasted unsalted sunflower seeds nutmeg salt and pepper Preheat oven to 350F. Make bread crumbs out of bread pieces in food processor. Spread crumbs out on 2 heavy large cookie sheets. Bake until dry, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Dump into large bowl. Place mushrooms in small bowl. Add 3 cups hot water, let soak 30 minutes. Drain mushrooms; reserve 1 cup soaking liquid. Cut off mushroom stems and discard. Cut caps into 1/4 inch thick slices. Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add shallots and saute 5 minutes. Add remaining 1/2 cup butter and thyme and stir until butter melts. Mix mushrooms, currants and unflower seeds into breadcrumbs. Add butter mixture and stir until well mixed. Stir in 1 cup reserved mushroom soaking liquid. Season to taste with nutmeg, salt and pepper.